Precious Love
by nanjarohoihoi
Summary: What if the perfect moment takes place when and where you least expect it? // Taiora (Taichi x Sora)


Precious Love

**Precious Love**  
  
  
There he sits on branches above me.   
  
We come here almost everyday. You see, just outside our high school is a tall deciduous tree. The lowest branch on the tree is a few feet higher than I am. Our tree towers over the schoolyard. From here, we can watch our peers and their lives, but none of them can see us clearly through the leaves. We can watch them, but they can't see us.   
  
I look up. There he still sits. Patches of sun that managed to sneak through the leaves, dot his tanned skin and move with the breeze. That's my Taichi.   
  
We come here all the time. Sometimes we come during a spare period, or at lunch, but mostly after the school day is over. We sit up here, meters off the ground, and watch the world go by. We both feel the most at peace in this faithful tree. Here we get a chance to talk, and more importantly, be ourselves with no one around to judge us.   
  
He's the only one who sees me for who I am. I'm the only one that sees him for who he is. He's been my best friend ever since we were children. We know each other better than anyone. Maybe that's what makes us so close.   
  
I continue to look up at the boy sitting on a branch about a foot higher than the one I'm sitting on. He closes his eyes and sighs happily, relaxed, lounging in our tree.   
  
I remember the day it became _our_ tree. That was also the day he made my dreams come true. And it turns out they weren't just my dreams.   
  
For years now, I've loved him. I can't help it. I care about him more than anyone else in the world. He keeps me happy and fills me with a positive feeling. He gives me the courage to carry on, even in the darkest hours. He stays by my side. I always thought of it as a brother-sister thing. That all changed when I grew older and entered high school with him. It was then that I realized that I didn't just love him, I was _in love_ with him. I didn't say anything, but somehow he knew. He knew. When I looked into his eyes, I could read the ones staring back into my own. He knew.   
  
Yet, he didn't run. He didn't say a thing. I wasn't sure what to think at first. He just carried on like it was business as usual. We were best friends. He didn't treat me as a girl who loved him. He treated me like his best friend.   
  
It wasn't long until I began to wonder how he felt about me. For the first time in my life, I failed to see through to his heart. He kept spending more and more time with me. I couldn't help but wonder. I was in love with my best friend. I felt it was alright if he didn't feel that way about me, as long as we'd always be together.   
  
I remember the day our friendship changed shape.   
  
"Sora, can I show you something?" Taichi asked me by my locker after school one day. I remember looking at my best friend as he slightly smiled at me.   
  
"Alright," I answered in my cheerful tone.   
  
He immediately took my hand and with gentle force, pulled me through the emptying halls and out around the high school. I kept asking what was going on and where he was taking me, but he didn't answer. Instead, he just smiled.   
  
When he stopped and let go of my arm, we were standing under the shade of a tall tree. I looked up at it suspiciously, then looked at my friend questioningly.   
  
"Let's climb it," he suggested out of the blue.   
  
I shot him a confused look. "Taichi, I can't even reach the lowest branch."   
  
His eyes compared the height of the lowest branch to my own. Without any warning, he ran towards the tree and jumped upwards, up to the branch. He caught it with his hands and pulled himself to an upright position. Now sitting on the branch, he looked down at me and smiled.   
  
"You try," he suggested.   
  
I looked at his face. "That's not possible," I told him.   
  
"Trust me," he responded in a calm tone.   
  
"It's not possible. I could climb it if I could reach that branch, but I can't jump nearly as high as you."   
  
"Please," he seemed to ask.   
  
"It is impossible!" I exclaimed.   
  
"Humor me." His dark brown eyes stared deep into mine.   
  
I let out a sigh. It was useless to argue with him. He always seemed to win. I took a few steps back, then ran along the ground towards the tree at full force. Growing nearer, I bent my knees and sprung up into the air towards where he sat.   
  
I was at the highest point of my jump. I knew I wasn't going to make it. The branch Taichi was sitting on was only a few inches away from my fingertips as I started to gently fall back to Earth.   
  
Suddenly, I stopped falling downwards. My feet weren't hitting the ground. I was hanging. It was like time had stopped for a single instant.   
  
I looked up. To my surprise, Taichi was leaning down. His hand was fastened tightly around my wrist. He was strong. He was supporting my weight with one hand. I felt my legs dangling in the air. My eyes met his. He smiled down at me and I returned to him a shocked expression.   
  
Snapping back to reality, I lifted my other arm up and grabbed the branch. With Taichi's help, I was able to pull my own body up onto the branch. We both shifted positions until we sat on the branch as if it was a bench. Our legs gently swung in the fresh spring air.   
  
From up here, I stared out at the schoolyard. We were the only ones left. Everyone else was already on their way home.   
  
I took in a deep breath of the air and looked at Taichi. It was peaceful and beautiful in this tree. Taichi turned to me.   
  
"Everything is possible," he said as he looked into my eyes, "you thought it was impossible, but it could be done. You made it up here, didn't you?" I looked back at him with eyes filled with wonder.   
  
"Thanks to you," I replied, smiling back at him.   
  
There was a moment of silence as we just stared at each other.   
  
"Sora…" he spoke softly, as he seemed to search my eyes for something. I just stared back at him.   
  
Slowly, he placed his warm hand on my cheek. I wasn't expecting it and my eyes widened a bit. He cupped my face with his hand and brought my face closer to his. A gentle breeze hit. With the tranquility it brought, I couldn't help but close my eyes.   
  
It was then that I felt it. Something warm was gently pressed against my lips.   
  
Shocked at the touch, I opened my eyes to see Taichi's closed eyes in front of my own. Like the gentle wind, he slowly moved away and opened his eyes to gaze back out at me.   
  
It felt like a dream. I looked out at him lovingly and for the first time in my life, I saw the same eyes reflected back at me.   
  
A state of shock passed over me. I couldn't believe what was happening. I flush of pink dotted my cheeks. He took one of his hands and gently stroked the side of my face.   
  
"I've always loved you, Sora..."   
  
My eyes went wide in disbelief after hearing this.   
  
"And I always will..." His voice almost faded to a whisper.   
  
I felt tears in the corners of my eyes. I blinked releasing one down my face.   
  
"Taichi!" I exclaimed happily as I wrapped my arms around the boy and held him close. When I felt him return the feeling by placing his arms around my back, I knew that we would always be together.   
  
And that's how it became our tree. It's the same tree I am sitting in now as I reminis. I shift my gaze back up to the boy above me. He looks down into my eyes. I can't help but smile back at him.   
  
This is our precious love...   
  
  



End file.
